When guest guitarist Ricardo Cortez performs with the Del Mar College MWF Jazz Band on April 7, he just might feel right at home. That’s because he’s no stranger to the College or the direction of stage band and guitar professor David Irving.

Cortez attended Del Mar College between 1986 and 1988 and occasionally teaches jazz improvisation for the institution’s Department of Music. As a DMC music student, he studied classical guitar under Philip Hii and jazz guitar with the late Chester Rupe, who was among the early members of the Texas Jazz Festival. Cortez also played with the MWF Jazz Band during his College days and traveled with the Jazz Band when members toured Europe.

Old school feelings may surface again as Cortez joins the MWF Jazz Band for a 7:30 p.m. performance on Thursday, April 7, in Richardson Auditorium on the College’s East Campus, Ayers and Baldwin. Cost is $3 general admission or free with a valid Del Mar College I.D. Tickets are available from band members, in the Music Office (Fine Arts Music Building, East Campus) or at the door the evening of the performance. For more information, call 698-1616.

While enrolled at the College, Cortez also served as president of the Del Mar’s Kappa Chi Chapter of the international music fraternity Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia. Cortez earned his bachelor’s degree in music education from the University of North Texas.

Currently, Cortez heads the guitar department at the Vidal M. Treviño School of Communication and Fine Arts in the Laredo Independent School District. In great demand as a guitarist, he has played numerous “gigs” throughout South Texas and serves as a soloist and clinician in area schools.

Among Cortez’s passions is the performance and promotion of Latin jazz, a melding of African-American and Hispanic music that jazz greats Dizzy Gillespie and Stan Kenton introduced in the 1940s. Cortez’s compact disc, The Latin Jazz Project, features the guitarist and several other area musicians playing in the increasingly popular style.